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WP Agency
WP Agency

Technical WordPress agency for websites, WooCommerce shops and integrations. A dedicated team for new projects and ongoing development, based in the Netherlands.

Akismet

The most popular anti-spam plugin for WordPress that automatically filters spam comments and form submissions.

Akismet is an anti-spam plugin for WordPress that automatically filters spam comments, trackbacks and form submissions. The plugin comes pre-installed with every WordPress installation and protects millions of websites worldwide against unwanted messages.

How does Akismet work?

Every time someone posts a comment on your website, Akismet sends that comment to its cloud servers for checking. There, the message is compared against a vast database of known spam patterns. Within milliseconds the verdict comes back:

  • Not spam — the comment is published straight away (or awaits moderation, depending on your settings).
  • Spam — the comment is moved to the spam folder, without your visitors noticing a thing.

Akismet learns continuously. When you manually mark a comment as spam or approve one, that information is used to improve the filter for all users.

Why do you need Akismet?

A WordPress website without spam protection soon receives dozens to hundreds of spam comments per day. This spam:

  • Harms your SEO — spam links in comments can damage your domain authority.
  • Degrades the user experience — visitors see nonsensical comments mixed in with genuine ones.
  • Costs time — manually removing spam is unmanageable at high volumes.
  • Poses a security risk — spam comments sometimes contain links to malware or phishing pages.

Setting up Akismet

  1. Go to Plugins in your WordPress dashboard — Akismet is already installed.
  2. Click Activate.
  3. Create a free API key at akismet.com (free for personal sites, paid for commercial use).
  4. Enter the API key and save.

From that moment, Akismet automatically filters all spam. In the dashboard you can view the spam folder and approve any incorrectly flagged comments.

Akismet vs other solutions

Besides Akismet, alternatives such as reCAPTCHA and Antispam Bee exist. The difference: Akismet works server-side without requiring visitors to complete a CAPTCHA. That is better for the user experience and converts more highly on contact forms and online shops.

For most WordPress websites, Akismet is the best choice — it is reliable, straightforward and actively maintained by Automattic, the company behind WordPress.com.